Crispin Porter + Bogusky: Johnnie Walker discovers women

August 16, 2017

Keep Walking is inextricably linked to Johnnie Walker. Has been for eighteen years. It has been assimilated into ads that celebrate men finding joy, ads about men’s power plays, and ads about brotherly love that Johnnie Walker didn’t commission.

A woman features in Johnnie Walker’s new ad by Crispin Porter + Brazil. A woman who breaks free of the expected journey. Women breaking free is a much used theme right now – for everything from Nike sportswear to SK11 skin care to motorbikes. For the Diageo brand, it’s radical.

Johnnie Walker is appealing to the world’s younger audience confronting an array of possibilities of life that’s newly (or becoming) available to them. And it’s befriending them with its encouragement, “the next step is inside you”.

Álvaro Garcia, marketing director of Diageo, stated, “Johnnie Walker is a brand that has been keeping the same essence for two centuries while innovating the communication approach to the consumer and it is recognised for its iconic campaigns. For this new moment, we present a reinterpretation of progress in the perspective of the millennials. We aim to inspire the consumers to follow their instincts, make their choices and that’s why we have the motto, The next step is inside you, because it perfectly defines the message we want to spread. One of the biggest news is that we’ll give life to the concept by bringing innovative experiences to the public.”

Marcos Medeiros, partner and chief creative officer of CP+B Brazil, added, “Nowadays, young adults have infinite possibilities and we need to adapt ourselves to it. Our message in the campaign is to depict progress as something that no longer depends on a linear path. If the concept of success used to be clear, now it is much more undefined and may fit in several possibilities. The new Johnny Walker’s campaign platform portrays this evolution and a way to approach this new generation of consumers,” says Marcos Medeiros, partner and CCO of CP+B Brazil.

The campaign’s hero film was shot in the Atacama, Chile, by Iconoclast director, Ian Ruschel. It was quite a production – the three-day shoot in the Atacama Desert was followed by 30 days of post-production. The rail shown in the film is real and was part of the location. The glass wagon, was designed by Marcos Medeiros and one only was produced. It was multiplied during the post-production phase.